Current Affairs Update – 4th March, 2015

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 4 March 2015 reduced the repo rate by 25 basis points to 7.5 percent with immediate effect. This is the second time since January 2015 that RBI reduced the repo rate by 25 basis points.
• With this, the reverse repo rate under the LAF stands adjusted to 6.5 percent, and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank rate to 8.5 percent.
• The RBI reduced the repo rate outside the bi-monetary policy review cycle taking into account the following developments:
• The new Consumer Price Index (CPI) rebased to 2012 was released on 12 February 2015. As per this, inflation in January 2015 stood at 5.1 percent which was well within the target of 8 percent for January 2015.
• The prices of vegetables and inflation excluding food and fuel reached a new low indicating that disinflation is evolving along the path set out by the RBI in January 2014 and at a faster pace than earlier envisaged.
• The recently-released GDP estimates based on base year 2011-12 by Central Statistical Office (CSO) pictures a steadily recovering economy which appears to be right.
• In Union Budget 2015-16, many important and valuable structural reforms has been included. This will help improve supply over the medium term and help achieve fiscal consolidation.
• The rupee remained strong relative to peer countries, thus, creating disinflationary impulses.

• To make it easier for new individual investors, market regulator Sebi today announced a 'Saral' or simplified account opening form for such persons and eased the process for submitting address proof documents.
• The move comes in the backdrop of the government and the regulator making efforts to attract new retail investors to the market especially for the disinvestment share sales through Offer For Sale (OFS) and other routes.
• In a circular issued to all stock exchanges and various market intermediaries, the Sebi said: "A majority of new investors in the securities market begin with participation in the cash segment without obtaining various other facilities such as Internet trading, margin trading, derivative trading and use of power of attorney."

• The long-pending Insurance bill, a key economic reform legislation providing for raising foreign investment cap to 49 per cent, was today passed by Lok Sabha with the government insisting that the measure is crucial for expanding the penetration of insurance in the country.
• The controversial Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to replace an ordinance, also provides for imprisonment of up to 10 years for selling policies without registration with the regulator IRDA.
• The proposed legislation will also allow PSU general insurers to raise funds from the capital market and provides for increased penalty to deter multilevel marketing of insurance products.
• The bill, one of the key reform legislations, has been pending since 2008.

• Lok Sabha today passed the Coal Mines bill to allow e-auction of coal blocks after the Supreme Court cancelled their allocation leading to uncertainty in the coal sector, amid opposition by Left and some other opposition parties.
• The Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill, 2015, would replace two ordinances issued by the government -- the first on October 21 last year and the other in December, after the apex court cancelled the allocation of 204 blocks.
• Replying to a debate on the bill, Coal and Power Minister Piyush Goyal said its passage would ensure "transparent and honest" process of auctioning of coal blocks.
• Highlighting the necessity of passing the bill, he warned that if the Bill is not passed, then there could be a crisis in the coal sector with the closure of these mines.

• Union Government and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) signed an agreement on Monetary Policy Framework. The agreement was signed on 20 February 2015 but was made public on 2 March 2015.
• The agreement empowers the RBI to go for inflation targeting that is common in developed countries and it also empowers RBI to monitor its monetary policy framework.
• As per the agreement, RBI will aim to bring down the inflation below six percent by January 2016 and inflation target for 2016-2017 and subsequent years will be 4 percent +/-2 percentage points.

• India’s monetary policy framework will be operated by the RBI.
• India’s monetary policy framework will aim to “maintain price stability while keeping in mind the objective of growth.
• If the RBI fails to meet the target, then it will have to report to the Union Government the reasons for the failure to achieve the target.
• It will also provide the remedial action to take and estimate of the time period within which the target would be achieved.
• It will put in place a framework of a modern monetary policy to meet the challenges of an increasingly complex economy.
• The RBI’s Governor will determine the country’s key interest rates or any measures needed to achieve that inflation target.
• It binds the Union Government to take proactive measures for price control.
• The agreement will provide a predictable policy stance on inflation, helping investors, especially in the debt market.

• Union Ministry of Shipping on 3 March 2015 signed an agreement with Toyota for export of automobile units. The export of automobile units will be done through Kamarajar Port Limited (KPL).
• The agreement mainly includes the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) commitment to use KPL as their primary port and KPL will give volume based discount on the tariff on certain facilities for smooth functioning of the operations. The Agreement is for a period of 10 years.

• President Pranab Mukherjee on 2 March 2015 gave his assent to the Maharashtra Animal Preservation (Amendment) Bill 1995. This amendment bans slaughter of bulls and bullocks in Maharashtra.
• President gave his assent to the Bill as per the provisions in Article 201 of the Constitution of India.

• If anyone is found selling beef or in possession of it can be jailed for five years and fined up to 10000 rupees
• The new act will however allow slaughter of water buffaloes, which provides carabeef, generally seen as inferior quality meat (that makes up only 25 percent of the total beef market in the state)

• World’s largest and tallest Indian national flag was unfurled on 3 March 2015 at Town Park in Faridabad, Haryana. The flag was unfurled by BJP president Amit Shah, Haryana CM ML Khattar and Bollywood actor Ranbir Kapoor.
• The flag has dimension of 96 feet by 64 feet and weighs 48 kilograms. Flag was hoisted at the height of 250 feet (75 meters). Thus, making it the world’s largest and the highest hoisted Indian flag in the world.
• The unfurling event was organised by Nav Chetna Trust which is formed to work on social issues like beti Bachao Beti Padhao Campaign and Swachh Bharat Mission.
• Another such flag is located at the Central Park in Connaught Place, New Delhi. This flag is 60 feet in width and 90 feet in length and is hoisted at the height of 207 feet.

• The state cabinet of Maharashtra on 3 March 2015 approved the proposal to issue Aadhar-linked ration cards. The approval was given in a bid to curb fake beneficiaries and bring in transparency in the Public Distribution System (PDS).
• Under this two-phased programme of 173.72 crore rupees, Aadhar-linked ration cards will be distributed to all the 2.32 crore ration card holders in the state in the first phase.
• In the second phase, all PDS outlets across the state will be connected with a mobile terminal technology–enabled biometric network to recognise each customer’s details before distributing the food grains.

• National Building Construction Corporation Ltd (NBCC) and Delhi Development Authority (DDA) on Wednesday signed an MoU for the first smart sub-city to come up at Karkardooma in East Delhi.
• The 30-hectare DDA land will be developed by NBCC as the first transit oriented development (TOD) smart city in Delhi -- ‘East Delhi Hub Project’.

• Indian-American physician Rahul Jindal was on 3 March 2015 selected for the prestigious Fulbright-Nehru Distinguished Chair.
• The Ahmedabad-based HL Trivedi Institute of Transplantation Sciences will host Rahul Jindal for the duration of the chair. The Institute performs about 400 kidney transplants in a year and has developed innovative transplant tolerance models.

• Bollywood actress Rani Mukerji was on 3 March 2015 awarded with the National Award for the Best Representation of the Cause of Safety, Security and Protection of Women and Girl Child by National Institute of Gender Justice (NIGJ).
• Rani is the first ever film personality to be felicitated with this prestigious award. She was awarded for creating awareness about child trafficking in New Delhi.
• Rani was honoured not only for her incredible work in cinema but also for the kind of work she has been doing to create awareness about child trafficking.

• Acclaimed Indian violinist L Subramaniam and Kathak exponent Roshan Kumari were awarded with prestigious Hafiz Ali Khan Award-2014 by renowned Sarod player Ustad Amzad Ali Khan at a function held here.
• Subramaniam and Kumari of Jaipur Gharana received the 30th Hafiz Ali Khan award last evening.
• The award was instituted by Amzad Ali Khan in 1985 in memory of his father Hafiz Ali Khan, a great court musician of the Gwalior Gharana.

• Kirket, a Hindi film based on former Indian cricketer Kirti Azad’s life was launched on 2 March 2015. 56-year-old, Kirti Azad is the actor of the film which is based on his cricket journey.
• The film seeks to depict the difficulties of Bihar cricket and is a genuine story of talented but underprivileged young boys who can do wonders if given chance.
• The film is the brainchild of producer Sonu Jha and is expected to be released in 2016.  Vishal Tiwari is the co-producer of the film.

• David Warner made mincemeat of an inexperienced Afghanistan bowling attack with a magnificent 178 as hosts Australia thrashed Afghanistan by 275 runs after piling up a tournament record 417 for six in a group league match of the cricket World Cup here on Wednesday.
• Batting first, Australia surpassed India’s 413 for five against Bermuda in 2007. Afghanistan were never in the match as they were bundled out for 142 in 37.3 overs a few days after their initial high following the Scotland victory.

• The World Wildlife Day was observed on 3 March 2015. The 2015 theme of the day is Wildlife crime is serious, let’s get serious about wildlife crime.
• The day is celebrated as an opportunity to celebrate the varied forms of wild fauna and flora and to raise awareness of the multitude of benefits that conservation provides to people.

• Ornithologist and naturalist KS Lavkumar Khachar died on 3 March 2015. He was 84. Khachar was among the pioneers of nature conservation in India.
• He worked to spread awareness about ornithology, nature and wildlife conservation. He had a long association with the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) India.
• He served as director of the Nature Discovery Centre of the Centre for Environment Education (CEE) in 1984. He produced Sixty Indian Birds book along with RS Dharmakumarsinhji in 1981.
• He was awarded several prestigious awards that include The Salim Ali-Loke Wan Tho Lifetime Award for Excellence in Ornithology for his pioneering work in ornithology and on the Nanda Devi National Park.

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